Vivienne Varay

Bio

Vivienne Varay is a visual artist with a background in contemporary jewelry, photography, and design. During her graduate studies, she discovered that adornment-based objects gave her the opportunity to create conceptual, audacious, and provocative works about intimacy and desire. The objects she creates are often exaggerated confessions of love that are inspired by anxiety and conflict. She works with materials such as lead, cotton, fur, pearls, and bodily discards collected by the artist from transitional periods in her life in order to communicate how materials and objects impact our lived experiences.

In 2016, she received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Georgia while studying under Mary Hallam Pearse and Lola Brooks. She obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts with the distinction Magna Cum Laude from the Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts at Arizona State University in 2012. She has exhibited her work in group exhibitions throughout the United States. Her work has been shown at Brooklyn Metal Works, TAG Gallery in Los Angeles, InLiquid Gallery in Philadelphia, Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach, and Hera Gallery in Rhode Island. Her work has also been exhibited Internationally at Palazzo Vagnotti in Cortona, Italy, she has been included in multiple exhibitions with TempContemp in Australia, and participated in Romanian Jewelry Week 2022 at The National Library of Romania in Bucharest.

She currently works in a private space in her home, focusing her time on the creation of one-of-a-kind pieces and limited edition studio jewelry. She spent five years in Philadelphia before relocating to Pullman, Washington. She currently teaches full time as a Lecturer for the Department of Digital Technology and Culture at Washington State University.

Statement

Feint-Hearted is a body of work about the fear and anxiety caused from a lack of intimacy in my relationships.
 

CV